Looking for a Dill Pickle Recipe

[probe1957]

Anyone have a proven dill pickle recipe they would be willing to share? I have done a search but didn't really find anything.

[imafan26]

Food.com, formerly recipezaar has great recipes. I found these two. Be sure to read the comments they usually give you some very useful tips and clues to some problems you might run into.

http://www.food.com/recipe/kittencals-e ... kles-90487

http://www.food.com/recipe/blue-ribbon- ... les-241139

[probe1957]

Thanks much. I know my grandmother used to use alum in her pickles. I think she claimed it helped to keep them crisp.

[VeggieGardenGal]

Thank you for posting the Refrigerator Dill Pickle Recipe. I love that it last for months in the frig.

[mattie g]

A little late, but...

Cold-canned Garlicky (and a little spicy) Dill Pickles

Yield: 2-3 quarts, depending on how full you stuff the jars

Brine:
3 cups water
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup kosher or pickling salt
1 tsp pickling spice (in cheesecloth bags or something similar) (don't feel like buying pickling spice? Don't - I honestly don't know if it makes a difference)

Cucumbers (cut however you like so that they fit into the jars)
3 cloves garlic per quart (I smash mine a little)
2 fresh heads/sprigs of dill per quart
1 jalapeno (halved) per quart (can be fresh or dried)
Mustard seeds (enough to cover about 1/2-2/3 of the jar's bottom)
Peppercorns (enough to cover the rest of the bottom of the jar)

Combine brine ingredients and bring to a boil, then let cool for 5-10 minutes. Add solid ingredients to the jar and pour liquid over them, then put on the lids and seal. Let them cool a little more (so they're not still hot) and pop them into the fridge.

I've eaten these pickles well over six months (maybe ten months?) after canning them - you just have to make sure to keep them nice and cold. They lose some of their crunch and their color is kind of ashen, but the flavor is very intense as they sit longer. They're probably best within a few months of the canning date...if they last that long!

[Rairdog]

A little late, but...

Cold-canned Garlicky (and a little spicy) Dill Pickles

Yield: 2-3 quarts, depending on how full you stuff the jars

Brine:
3 cups water
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup kosher or pickling salt
1 tsp pickling spice (in cheesecloth bags or something similar) (don't feel like buying pickling spice? Don't - I honestly don't know if it makes a difference)

Cucumbers (cut however you like so that they fit into the jars)
3 cloves garlic per quart (I smash mine a little)
2 fresh heads/sprigs of dill per quart
1 jalapeno (halved) per quart (can be fresh or dried)
Mustard seeds (enough to cover about 1/2-2/3 of the jar's bottom)
Peppercorns (enough to cover the rest of the bottom of the jar)

Combine brine ingredients and bring to a boil, then let cool for 5-10 minutes. Add solid ingredients to the jar and pour liquid over them, then put on the lids and seal. Let them cool a little more (so they're not still hot) and pop them into the fridge.

I've eaten these pickles well over six months (maybe ten months?) after canning them - you just have to make sure to keep them nice and cold. They lose some of their crunch and their color is kind of ashen, but the flavor is very intense as they sit longer. They're probably best within a few months of the canning date...if they last that long!

This is similar to the one I plan on trying from food net

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ted- ... ecipe.html

That recipe calls for boiling the garlic for 5 min. It also calls for 4-2 water to vinegar while yours calls for 3-1. I don't know if it makes a difference.

I plan on experimenting with caraway seed, fennel seed, okra, banana peppers, onion tops and whatever else I have growing.

I am also curios about some of the additives used to keep it crisp. Alum seems to be no longer recommended. I have seen oak and grape leave used for their tannins. Some recommend soaking in ice water for 4-5 hours. Other say to cut the blossom end off that contains enzymes which can soften.

Here is some info from Penn State
http://extension.psu.edu/food/preservat ... py-pickles

[feldon30]

Thanks much. I know my grandmother used to use alum in her pickles. I think she claimed it helped to keep them crisp.

These days, you can buy Ball Pickle Crisp which is Calcium Chloride pellets. It's the exact same stuff that mass-market canners use to keep diced tomatoes, pickles, beans, etc. crisp. You still need to do a safe canning process from a known trusted recipe such as Ball Blue Book, but you add 1/8 tsp to each pint jar (1/4 tsp for a quart jar). I have some beans I canned last week that I added PC to. Will have to try them out soon!

[mattie g]

[This is similar to the one I plan on trying from food net

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ted- ... ecipe.html

That recipe calls for boiling the garlic for 5 min. It also calls for 4-2 water to vinegar while yours calls for 3-1. I don't know if it makes a difference.

That does sound pretty close to my recipe. When I was putting together my recipe, I searched around and borrowed from a few garlic dill pickle recipes I found, so there's a good chance this was one of those that had an influence on mine. Adding the garlic to the brine makes sense, especially if you're looking to get more garlic flavor into the brine/pickles more quickly.

I usually add more vinegar to my pickles than the 3-to-1, to be honest. And since I like a stronger-flavored pickle, sometimes I add a little more garlic and jalapeno to a jar or two so I can get a group of real wow-factor pickles!

[T_Titan]

So off topic but if you're making your own pickles you gotta try making pickle salsa. It's unique and people LOVE it.

[Rairdog]

[This is similar to the one I plan on trying from food net

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ted- ... ecipe.html

That recipe calls for boiling the garlic for 5 min. It also calls for 4-2 water to vinegar while yours calls for 3-1. I don't know if it makes a difference.

That does sound pretty close to my recipe. When I was putting together my recipe, I searched around and borrowed from a few garlic dill pickle recipes I found, so there's a good chance this was one of those that had an influence on mine. Adding the garlic to the brine makes sense, especially if you're looking to get more garlic flavor into the brine/pickles more quickly.

I usually add more vinegar to my pickles than the 3-to-1, to be honest. And since I like a stronger-flavored pickle, sometimes I add a little more garlic and jalapeno to a jar or two so I can get a group of real wow-factor pickles!

I agree with the more garlic and wow! Please forgive me if you thought I was questioning your vinegar ratio. I am just curios. The experts always say to follow the ratio and every one of them seems different. I am just interested in finding easy to grow ingredients and not running to the store to buy some artificial man made compound that the man says you need.

I have been experimenting with lime basil, dill and vinegar to give it a twist. Grow it and make it without adding something that mother Ball says is my motto.

[mattie g]

[I agree with the more garlic and wow! Please forgive me if you thought I was questioning your vinegar ratio. I am just curios. The experts always say to follow the ratio and every one of them seems different. I am just interested in finding easy to grow ingredients and not running to the store to buy some artificial man made compound that the man says you need.

I have been experimenting with lime basil, dill and vinegar to give it a twist. Grow it and make it without adding something that mother Ball says is my motto.

No worries at all! I often have a hard time being concise with the recipes I give to people because I don't really follow them verbatim. I generally think of recipes as a guide rather than gospel, except when baking or canning items that need a lot of acid to reduce threat of bacteria or spoilage. Everything else is free game to tinker and experiment until you come up with what you really like!

[applestar]

How are you using the lime basil?
How did it turn out?

[Rairdog]

I had early dill and stuffed an old soy bottle then topped with vinegar. It was for using in salad for a different dressing than the usual V&O. It turned out great. Then I had lime basil flowering so I topped them and put them in the bottle instead of compost. They were just starting to flower. It really gave it a zing! I figure it will add a zing to the pickles.